New library opens in Sand Creek

Barb Sell of Sand Creek said she has always been a book lover and book owner.

That’s part of the reason why, when she left the Lenawee County Library in September 2008 after 31 years of running the library’s Bookmobile, Sell thought about opening a library in Sand Creek.

Sell, who grew up in Sand Creek, also recognized that many small communities such as Sand Creek, which are not officially villages or cities, don’t have a means to create their own library.

“The only way that we could have a library is for somebody to do it,” Sell said.

Fortunately for Sell, she had both a place for the library — her father’s former hardware store in Sand Creek — and her own large collection of books, which she began to inventory soon after she left the county library.

“I discovered that I had more than 12,000 of my own books,” Sell said.

Sell’s father, Leslie Sell, who died in 1983, built the building at 6193 Railroad St. in Sand Creek in the early-to-mid 1940s, Sell said. He ran a hardware store there until 1982, when he sold it to someone who kept it open a couple more years. The building remained unused after that, Sell said.

“I cleaned it out and converted it,” Sell said.

The conversion, really a remodeling, included new siding on the outside of the building and new oak shelving on the inside, she said. The building even has a gas fireplace.

With a combination of her own books, donated books and a four-person board, the Read it and Reap Library opened Oct. 21.

Sell said she chose the name because she heard the phrase somewhere and liked it, and because Sand Creek is a farming community.

The book collection includes adult fiction and nonfiction, children's and teenage books and a section of vintage books published more than 50 years ago. Sell estimates there are about 15,000 books in the library now.

The library works like any other library, with books available for lending, Sell said. While the library has Wi-Fi, it does not yet have its own computer, so checkout is by the old card method with a card pocket in the book, she said.

The library is open to anyone for free, she said, though she doubts anyone outside Lenawee County is likely to use it. So far, the library has about 127 card holders, Sell said.

Sell is especially proud that the Lenawee County Family Researchers, a genealogy group, has its own corner in the library where members keep their collection of resource materials.

Most of the time, Sell serves as librarian, though she gets help from some volunteer staff. Michele Blain-Olson is president of the library board and a volunteer. The library is able to offer personalized service that might not be available at a larger library, she said.

“We are there to serve this local community,” Blain-Olson said. “We are close to our community.”

The library is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and is closed on Sunday.

Sell said she is funding the day-to-day library expenses. The library has applied for charitable organization tax status so it can seek business and other donations, she said.

Sell said she thinks other people shared her desire for a library.

“I think there were other people hoping for their kids to have a library,” she said.